Housing Options

Special Needs Admissions

Program / Service Name

N/A

Director

Kelly Woodruff

College Entrance Tests Required

Yes

Interview Required

No

Documentation Required for LD

Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not, by themselves, constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other disabilities (e.g., sensory impairment, intellectual disability, serious emotional disturbance), or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences. (From the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities: Issues on Definition)
Specific documentation guidelines for Learning Disabilities include the following:
• General documentation guidelines listed in Appendix D.
• Documentation should reflect data collected within the past three years at the time of request for services or after the age of 18 so long as the documentation continues to represent current functioning.
• Clear and specific identification of a learning disability must be stated. For example, the terms “Learning styles” or “Learning differences” are not synonymous with a learning disability.
• Documentation of a developmental and educational history consistent with a learning disability.
• Documentation of learning disabilities should include standardized measures of academic achievement, cognitive/linguistic processing, and/or intellectual functioning that have normative data representing the general population. All standardized measures must be represented by standard scores and percentile ranks based on published age-based norms.
• Documentation of one or more cognitive/linguistic processing deficits that is associated in a meaningful way with the identified area(s) of academic limitation. Cognitive/linguistic processes commonly associated with academic achievement (selection dependent upon case) include the following:
• Fluency/Automaticity
• Executive functioning
• Memory/Learning
• Oral Language
• Phonological Processing
• Orthographic Processing
• Visual-Motor
• Visual-Perceptual/Visual-Spatial
• Documentation suggesting that the academic limitations are unexpected is necessary. As a result, evidence that substantially limited areas of achievement fall significantly below higher-level cognitive and/or linguistic abilities (e.g., broad intellectual functioning, reasoning, vocabulary, crystallized knowledge) must be included.
• Objective (quantitative and qualitative) evidence that symptoms are associated with significant functional impairment in the academic setting. In the case of Learning Disabilities, documentation must include evidence of substantial limitation(s) in one or more of the following areas of academic achievement:
• Reading (decoding, fluency, and/or comprehension)
• Mathematics (calculations, math fluency, and/or applied reasoning)
• Written Language (spelling, fluency, and/or written expression)
• Academic impairments, processing deficits, and evidence of intact functioning in other domains (e.g., higher-level cognitive functioning), should be evident on multiple measures.
• Documentation that alternative explanations for the academic and cognitive/linguistic limitation(s) have been considered and ruled out (e.g., low cognitive ability, other mental or neurological disorders, lack of adequate education, visual or auditory dysfunction, emotional factors such as anxiety or depression, cultural/language differences, poor motivation, symptom exaggeration).

Documentation Required for ADHD

AD/HD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development. By definition, the disorder is developmental in nature, and therefore, diagnosis requires the manifestation of several symptoms prior to age 12 years. Furthermore, a diagnosis of AD/HD is not sufficient, in and of itself, to determine appropriate accommodations. Therefore, objective data provided in a comprehensive assessment of cognitive processing and academic functioning may be required to establish the nature and severity of the student’s functional limitations. Such data may include, but are not limited to, the following: rating scale information, performance on continuous performance tasks, cognitive processing test results, and/or the results of achievement tests.
Specific documentation guidelines for AD/HD include the following:
• General documentation guidelines listed in Appendix D.
• Documentation should reflect data collected within the past three years at the time of request for services.
• A diagnosis consistent with the most recent DSM/ICD.
• Evidence of the following diagnostic criteria must be included in the documentation:
• Some evidence, beyond simple self-report, of clinically significant inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms prior to the age of 12 (in accordance with the DSM). Possible data sources for evidence of early symptoms include the following: parent/guardian report, medical reports, school records, and past evaluations.
• Evidence of current clinically significant symptoms of either inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity must be documented using appropriate standardized rating scales or norm-referenced measures of cognitive/executive functioning that provide comparisons to similarly aged individuals. However, in some cases, a detailed written statement from a qualified evaluator who has sufficient experience with the student and the student’s symptom history may be sufficient.
• Symptom presence must be assessed using student self-report and corroborated by an independent informant who has been able to observe the student’s recent functioning.
• Current clinically significant symptoms must be present in at least two settings and interfere with social, academic, or occupational functioning.
• Verifiable evidence that symptoms are associated with significant functional impairment in the academic setting. Suggested sources for evidence of academic functional impairment include the results of a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation, school records, and/or a comprehensive clinical interview that is described in a written statement by the evaluator.
Appendix D: General Documentation Guidelines
General Documentation Guidelines
All institutions are required to have written policies and procedures for review of documentation submitted by students with disabilities. Academic accommodations are provided by the disabilities services office or a designated office at an individual college or university. Decisions for system-level accommodations for cognitive/linguistic disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, acquired brain injuries, communication disorders, and psychological disorders) are made by the associated Regents’ Center for Learning Disorders. All disability eligibility and accommodation decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
In order to establish disability status and eligibility for disability services, institutions of the University System of Georgia require documentation from a qualified evaluator that:
• attests to the presence of a disabling condition as defined by the ADA and
• demonstrates substantial limitations impacting performance in the academic environment when compared to most people in the general population.
Documentation is used to determine eligibility for disability services, as well as to inform accommodation decision-making.
General documentation guidelines pertain to all disabilities. The following are provided to guide evaluators, students, and family members as they seek to document a disability under the ADA.
Appropriate evaluators
• Evaluators must be licensed qualified professionals whose training and credentials are consistent with expertise in the disability for which they provide documentation and/or eligibility classification under the IDEA/Section 504.
• Evaluators may not be friends or family members of the student.
Documentation of a physical and/or mental impairment
• A diagnostic statement based on the most current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and/or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) should be included, unless the evaluator is unable to do so due to school system regulations.
• Evaluators should demonstrate how the assessment results meet diagnostic criteria.
• The progression of the condition should be detailed if its impact on the student’s functioning is expected to change over time.
• Because diagnostic methodologies vary by disorder, further guidance for meeting this requirement can be found in the specific guidelines.
Documentation of a current substantial limitation in a major life activity
• The substantial limitation in a major life activity should be described.
• Quantitative and qualitative information should be used to demonstrate that the difficulties are substantially limiting when compared to most people in the general population.
• Evidence that the difficulties are substantially limiting to the student in the academic environment should be presented.
• Because substantial limitations may vary by disorder, further guidance for meeting this requirement can be found in the specific guidelines.
• In some cases, documentation of a current substantial limitation in the educational domain may be difficult to produce due to use of effective accommodations and interventions. In such cases, the documentation of the substantial limitation should include a description of the substantially limited abilities and skills, the accommodations and interventions implemented to address those limitations, the degree of the effectiveness of each, and justification for continued need.
Accommodation recommendations
• Any accommodation recommendations made must be supported by a rationale that explains the necessity based on the student’s measured impairments and current substantial limitations.
• Documentation of accommodations approved in the past is encouraged but does not guarantee approval at the postsecondary level.
Identifying information of the evaluating professional.
• Identifying information includes the names, signatures, titles, identifying credentials (e.g., license numbers), and contact information of evaluating professionals.
• Dates of evaluations must be included.
Recency
In order to determine eligibility for disability services and provide the most appropriate accommodations and services, documentation should provide an adequate representation of the student’s current functional abilities. Conditions served vary by developmental course and functional impact. As a result, guidance regarding recency requirements is provided in the specific documentation guidelines for each disorder. However, professional judgment will be used in determining the acceptability of any documentation provided.
Provisional accommodations
For students with a documented history of disability whose documentation fails to meet USG guidelines, institutions are encouraged to provide accommodations provisionally for a period of time (usually one semester) that would be reasonably sufficient for the student to gather the necessary information.

Student Services

Day Care
Health
Womens Center

LGBT Support Groups: The Gay-Straight Alliance exists to provide a safe space for networking, support, and education. We are open to any gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, questioning, or supportive straight member of the Georgia Southern Community. We host meetings, educational forums, social events, movies, community service events and more. Please contact us if you'd like more information.

Sustainability

Georgia Southern University emphasizes renewable energy and environmental science research. A newly established Academic Center for Sustainability and Sustainability Coordinator position highlights this dedication. Nowadays, opportunities for students to submit proposals and to participate in sustainability research abound on campus. Indeed, Georgia Southern is home to many laboratories, including a new Renewable Energy Laboratory, which gives students the chance to participate in applied research on energy initiatives such as converting Georgia-grown agricultural products into marketable fuel. Significant biodiversity conservation research is conducted campus-wide through the biology department, and two labs are engaged in “green chemistry.” In addition, the center hosts student-led sustainability action projects such as participating in “No Impact Week,” every day of which was dedicated to a different way students could take on eco-responsible habits, such as reducing consumption, trash, and alternative transportation. The percentage of buildings undergoing energy-related upgrades and efficiency retrofit projects has increased to 37 percent over the past seven to ten years. Other student organizations on campus doing green work include: Green Ambassadors, Geo Club, and Student Alliance for a Green Earth (SAGE). Everyone gets involved; a four-credit environmental course is a requirement for all graduates. A proud moment at Georgia Southern was the implementation of the Water Reuse Project. Working with the city of Statesboro and EPD officials, GSU was able to import reclaimed water from the city of Statesboro’s treatment facility for use in its irrigation needs.

Campus Security Report

The Jeanne Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose their security policies, keep a public crime log, publish an annual crime report and provide timely warnings to students and campus employees about a crime posing an immediate or ongoing threat to students and campus employees.

The Princeton Review publishes links directly to each school's Campus Security Reports where available. Applicants can also access all school-specific campus safety information using the Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool provided by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/security

Downtown StatesboroStatesboro MallSavannahHilton HeadTybee IslandStatesboro has small town charm. The city has a renovated downtown area with historically restored buildings. This area hosts many unique shops and is undertaking a large scale project for the enhancement of community arts. For more general shopping needs, Statesboro has a mall complete with a Carmike theatre. Statesboro is also only an hour away from beautiful Savannah, GA and is within easy driving distance of many other coastal vacation spots.

Class Visits

Overnight Dorm Stays

Overnight Dorm Stays

Not Available

Arrangements

Contact Admissions Office

Transportation

Types of Transportation Available to Campus

The nearest airport to Statesboro is Savannah Hilton Head International. Shuttle service is available from the airport to Statesboro. Taxi service is available in both Hilton Head, Statesboro, and Savannah.

Driving Instructions to Campus

From I-75 South/I-16 East/Highway 301 North (Atlanta/Macon): Take I-16 East to exit 116 (Statesboro and Georgia Southern University exit). Take a left onto Highway 301. Drive approximately 10 miles. You will pass through three traffic lights. The main entrance to Georgia Southern will be on your right. **As a point of reference look for the Super 8 on your left. Southern Drive (main entrance drive) will be on your right shortly after passing the Super 8. Take a right onto Southern Drive. Upon reaching Sweetheart Circle take a right. You will reach a fork in the road, take a left and continue around the circle. Lewis Hall will be the first building (on the circle) on your right.
From I-95 North/I-16 West/GA 67 North (Savannah/Florida): Take I-16 West to exit 127 (Statesboro and Georgia Southern University exit). Take a right onto Highway 67 North. Drive approximately 10 miles. Upon entering the Statesboro city limits you will pass through six (6) traffic lights. **As a point of reference, look for the East Georgia Regional Medical Center at the third light**. At the 7th traffic light take a left (Tillman Road). Follow this road to the next traffic light. Take a left onto 301 South. The next left you come to will be the main entrance into Georgia Southern (Southern Drive). Take a left here until Southern Drive becomes Sweetheart Circle. Take a right. Follow the circle around, when you come to a fork in the road take a left. Lewis Hall will be first building (on the circle) on your right. Visitors’ parking is in the front of the building.
From Augusta and other routes on Highway 25 and Highway 80: Come into Statesboro to the fourth traffic light. Turn right at this traffic light onto Highway 301 South/Main Street. Continue through Statesboro until you reach the main entrance to Georgia Southern on your left. Take a left onto Southern Drive. Upon reaching Sweetheart Circle take a right. You will reach a fork in the road, take a left and continue around the circle. Lewis Hall will be the first building (on the circle) on your right.

Local Accommodations

There are many area hotels available to the public. For a full listing visit http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/hotelinfo.htm or contact the Statesboro Visitors Bureau at www.visitstatesboro.com